Britain's Royal Air Force has sent fighter jets to Poland as part of a NATO enhanced air policing mission with the alliance's newest member, Sweden.
Why It Matters
Europe is grappling with plugging capability gaps and pulling up defense spending to stare down Russia, as the U.S. under President Donald Trump pivots away from its European NATO allies.
NATO introduced its enhanced air policing after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The initiative is designed to deter Russia from attacking the alliance's members.
Senior NATO officials have increasingly warned that Russia could launch some form of attack on the alliance, ranging from hybrid assaults to limited land grabs to test for a response. NATO's eastern flank nations, including Poland, have forged ahead with building up defenses and investing in their militaries.
What To Know
The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that six of the country's Typhoon fighter jets had arrived in eastern Poland to take part in an enhanced air policing mission. The jets traveled from the U.K.'s Lossiemouth base in northern Scotland.
The aircraft will work with Swedish Gripen jets for the first time to "protect Polish airspace," the British government said.
Sweden officially joined NATO little over a year ago. Sweden and Finland ended decades of non-alignment shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Russia heavily criticized the move.
"With threats increasing and growing Russian aggression, it is vital that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies," Lord Vernon Coaker, British Minister of State in the Ministry of Defense, said in a statement.
NATO air policing covers a handful of regions, including the Baltic states and the eastern flank of Europe more generally. Portuguese F-16 fighter jets arrived in Estonia late last month to take over from a detachment of Dutch F-35s, while Italian jets have taken up air policing in Romania from Spain's air force.
The British jets will be stationed in Poland for four months, NATO said in a previous statement.
The British RAF carried out air policing in Romania in April 2024, followed by a stint in Iceland in August last year as part of an air policing mission for the High North, an area of increasing tension between NATO, Russia and China. British jets also handle NATO air policing in the U.K.
What People Are Saying
Lord Coaker said in a statement on Tuesday: "This latest air policing mission in Poland displays the UK's ability to operate effectively with NATO's newest member in Sweden and deter our common adversaries across the alliance's airspace."
Lieutenant Colonel Anders Gustafsson, Swedish Air Force Detachment Commander in Poland, said in late March: "We are well prepared to take the next step to further strengthen NATO's air defence in terms of deterrence and to create security in NATO airspace together with our British colleagues."
What Happens Next
The jets will complete this round of air policing for the coming months, before the next rotation begins.
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This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 4:33 AM.